MEASURES OFFERED IN CONGRESS ON DETECTION AND CLEANUP OF RADON

By PHILIP SHABECOFF, Special to the New York Times

Published: March 13, 1987

WASHINGTON, March 12—
Members of Congress today introduced legislation for a Federal program to help detect and deal with radon, a dangerous, naturally occurring radioactive gas.

One bill, introduced by Senator George J. Mitchell, Democrat of Maine, who is chairman of a Senate subcommittee on environmental pollution, would authorize the Environmental Protection Agency to provide grants and technical assistance to help the states respond to the radon problem.

The three-year program, costing up to $30 million, is aimed at having the states, supported by the Federal Government, locate radon contamination and provide assistance to home owners. Detection in Schools

At the same time, Senator John H. Chafee, Republican of Rhode Island, the ranking minority member of Mr. Mitchell's subcommittee, introduced legislation to provide $1.5 million for a program to detect and assess radon contamination in schools and to develop ways to protect children in schools found to be contaminated.

The radioactive gas, which is colorless and odorless, is formed by the decay of uranium in the soil. It can collect in buildings, reaching dangerous concentrations, particularly newer, heavily insulated and sealed structures. Particles formed by the gas can lodge in the lungs and, in some causes, produce lung cancer.

Senators Mitchell and Chafee noted at a news conference here that the environmental agency had found that radon may cause as many as 20,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States each year and that it is one of the nation's major environmental problems.

Senator Mitchell said that radon demanded increased attention from Congress, the Reagan Administration and state governments. He noted that many areas of the country have unsafe levels, including Maine, where 30 percent of houses tested were found to have concentrations of the gas in the air exceeding the level at which the agency requires remedial action, and 15 percent of the houses were found to have unsafe levels in their drinking water supply.

Senator Chafee noted that the Federal agency had called radon the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers.

The two Senators said today that they thought the legislation had an ''excellent'' chance of passage and would be acted on quickly. Bill for the Other House

Representative Thomas A. Luken, Democrat of Ohio, who is chairman of the House Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism and Hazardous Materials, said at the news conference that next week he intends to introduce a bill in the House identical to the Senators' bills.

Mr. Luken charged that the environmental agency was not adequately addressing the radon problem, but he added that he thought that such legislation would win passage easily.

The President's budget for the environmental agency for the fiscal year 1988 calls for less than $4 million for radon programs, according to information supplied to Senator Mitchell by the agency.

David Cohen, a spokesman for the agency, said, ''Radon remains a problem of great concern to the agency.''

''E.P.A. first drew national attention to the radon problem and continues to run a strong citizen information program,'' he said. ''We will be giving today's bills serious review.''

Several years ago, radon was found to have widely contaminated homes in Pennsylvania over the Reading Prong, a geologic formation with relatively high levels of uranium that extends across New Jersey and into New York. Wider Contamination Possible

Mr. Luken reported today on data showing that radon contamination may pose a problem in as many as 37 states. The environmental agency has found that up to 12 percent of all the homes in the United States may require some remedial action.

The lawmakers pointed out that remedies for radon contamination range from applying a coat of paint to installing ventilation systems or sealing foundations.

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey, the chairman of an environmental subcommittee, announced today that he would hold hearings on radon contamination starting March 31.

Senator Lautenberg, who said he had found radon in his New Jersey home, said, ''This is very dangerous stuff.''